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Welcome to Cincinnati ;) On a serious note, I'll send a few letters (I'd come to CBUS more if, blah blah) if anyone can tell me which council members are the best "target audience"

Not nearly as many as you might think (if you believe some sources). Check it out from an impartial source (i.e., not affiliated with MADD). DD deaths are only a fraction of total driving deaths. Here are some numbers from the CDC - http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/drving.htm According to the CDC, about 39% of all traffic related deaths are caused by impaired drivers (16,885 of 48,423 traffic fatalities in 2005). The harder to find number is the fraction of those killed who were the impaired driver themself. (i.e., did the driver kill just themself by impaired, or did they kill someone else)

Lets be realistic here, I have my concealed carry permit, but I don't consider myself "combat ready." I'll leave that to the police thank you very much. Just play the Virginia Tech scenario out in your head if students had guns. Some jerkwad would be hiding behind a desk, peeing his pants, firing wildly to "have a chance to defend themselves." Do they REALLY think that they can hold up under fire? I MIGHT be willing to say that combat veterans and police officers who are students should be allowed to carry on campus. But your average Joe? Thats just asking for chaos if anything ever does happen. Then what about when the police arrive on the scene? The police arrive, and 15 people come out of the builidng packing firearms, what are they to do? Seriously stupid idea. (Another thing that bothers me is that I saw the peice on CNN and who they interviewed -- it didn't help that the person interviewed was carrying, but breaking the concealed carry law for part of the segment because he was carrying openly. Its called CONCEALED carry for a reason, and its one of the FIRST things they teach in the training course you have to take to get your license)

Baha. I don't think this announcement will stall the project one bit. Yeah, they "want it" but we all "want" things. If they WORK to make it happen, well then maybe it will, but at this point in the game they are facing an uphill battle and they know it. Honestly, look at who is behind this, Pete Witte (thats almost 'nuff said) but its CLEARLY a political ploy. I don't see any major developer being scared away by what is in essence a non-binding referendum. Brinksmanship. Pure and simple.

OK, here's the plan! Email me (cstpierre - AT - gmail.com) with your bumper sticker designs. (this includes those of you who have already posted with your designs, just email me with the images you posted) Lets say that the last day you can send me your design is Thursday (4/17). On Friday, I will start a new thread with the competitors designs, and Friday will be the vote day. I want to get these to a printer ASAP, so please, send as many designs as you want to me. Does this work for everyone? (don't respond here, PM me :))

So, about 30 gallons from 42 gallons of oil? Is that about the ratio?

OK, someone PM a mod and see if we can't split these posts into a new thread? Not even sure if that is possible, but worth a shot. We'd want a new thread to have a vote anyhow.

Yup, I for one can't really see how both Detroit and CVG can survive as hubs as they are now. My one hope is that perhaps there will be some actual competition at CVG so folks don't have to drive 50 - 100 miles to save a few hundred bucks, only to be connected through the airport they avoided to get those savings. Pie in the sky, but oh well...

If/When I hear back from Bryan, I'll ask him about that possibility. If people want to take this to PM's, emails, or a separate thread, thats fine, and I will make the announcement here when they are available, but in the end this is all part of the grass roots political support, and while what goes on the bumper sticker isn't directly relevant to the streetcar itself, it certainly is relevant to the way this particular political campaign presents itself, something that has been discussed here more than once *cough*

Frankly, I'll be putting the stickers on my bicycle, not my car, but hey, if people wanna stick em on cars, have fun ;) The irony is awesome!

Sweet, I'd much rather support a local and someone who cares about the outcome. I'll send him an email, and see what he has to say. All sorts of good ideas so far...

Submit as many as you want, its always best to have some variety. I say lets close off the submissions at the end of Wednesday, and then I can get an order for stickers in by the end of the week. Here are some guidelines on the final image constraints - http://www.cafepress.com/cp/info/help/images.aspx The plan is to print with cafepress unless someone can think of a local printer who can do a quicker turnaround at a decent price (Initial order of 100 or so bumper stickers, depending on cost).

No explicit deadline, hopefully we can get a bunch of competitors by mid week so we can vote on which people prefer :)

You can see the white border, its thin above, but you can see it...

Nice, I like it :) Entry number one in the contest! Keep em coming!! It can't be a competition without more than one entry :)

Indeed, Bostonite, Bostonian, either or :) Yeah, more folks do need to come, but try convincing them without good public transit. Its no small sticking point. People are used to being able to hop on a subway and go, heck it would be virtually unaffordable if you had to hop from garage to garage (When I was working downtown I was paying $40 a day to park in the lot at my building) It also doesn't help that P&G has very much pointed employees towards other areas of the city than anything near downtown. I am sure someone here would be more than happy to show off the city when you come to visit...

A week from today is the next finance committee meeting. I haven't heard anything yet about what will be going on at that meeting...

Here's a list of what the options on cafe press are for stickers These are all printed using water & UV resistant inks, printed on a vinyl backing 10" x 3" - standard bumper sticker size 5" x 3" - half bumper sticker size 5" x 3" Oval They also will do 3" round lapel stickers, but these are printed on paper, not vinyl, and are not water or UV resistant. Base your design on one of those format sizes - I like the I <3 OTR sticker colors too...

No stipulations other than it should be able to be printed on a bumper sticker (fewer colors makes printing a whole lot cheaper). Take a look at "this blog supports the streetcar" logos for some color ideas, but it really is wide open!

OK, so what we really need is not just cool slogans for the bumper stickers but the actual design... Has anyone put together any mock ups? Lets get this competition goin! ;) (I like the simple lines, eg, "Cincinnati Streetcar - Coming Soon" or just "Support the Cincinnati Streetcar", with some nice graphics backing them up)

As someone who came here from Boston and has tried to network with other Boston transplants, I will tell you first hand that what Bostonites see in OTR is untapped potential. That said, they also look on in a bit of horror that it has taken this long for that potential to be really seen. Keep in mind that folks moving from Boston were looking at median home prices for an easy commute to Gillette at about 480K at the time of the acquisition (this number has declined substantially since then, but the median price within an easy commute of Gillette is still well in excess of 350K). A place in Boston like one of the condos in the Q, with that kind of proximity to downtown Boston, can EASILY run in the multiple millions of dollars, and in the 1 million dollar range without batting an eye. These are the types of places I only wished I could afford in Boston, and here, its well within middle class reach.

I haven't piped in on this topic in a few, but I really want to stress that we shouldn't be making broad over generalizations here. If you have to use the word "probably" followed by illegal activity when referring to a large group, its "probably" a bit over the top. Clean sweep is not the answer (nor would it likely be legal, etc) Beat cops help, but to an extent street dealers already know how to work around beat cops, so it doesn't really completely address the issue. Anyhow, just my 2c, be careful when painting with broad strokes, it often does more harm than good and just reinforces perceptions which may or may not be reality.

The sub basement picture is awesome :) Really have to wonder why it was covered over. Reminds me very much of the old breweries I have visited throughout Europe...

^ Yes, indeed. Come up with the design/win the competition, and I will buy $200 worth of the bumper stickers from cafe press to be sold at shops in OTR. (Independent of the competition itself). Just know, your artwork will be bought :) Also, an idea that did get thrown out today that is worth some consideration... There are some folks who would be willing to put money down now to reserve a pass on the proposed line. Private money funding option? At least worth considering. Heck, I'd throw down some money now for an "annual pass" on whatever line gets built.

You know Dan would sell it too ;) I'll buy enough (a few $100) that some stores can sell em down there if someone comes up with a cool design!